THE RIM-NUT PROCESS AT WEST BARI FOR REMOVAL OF NUTRIENTS FROM WASTEWATER SECOND DEMONSTRATION

A second, 3-month demonstration of RIM-NUT, an advanced physico-chemical process based on selective ion exchange and chemical precipitation, confirmed the possibility to prevent eutrophication by removing ammonium and phosphate ions from municipal secondary effluents and to recover quantitatively magnesium ammonium phosphate, a slow-release premium quality fertilizer, in a simple and technically affordable manner. Economic projections for a 5.3 MGD (20,000 m3/d) plant indicate that RIM-NUT is cost effective. The overall costs are almost completely covered by the value of the fertilizer recovered and the non-eutrophic potential of the wastewaters discharged. Based on these results, a U.S. RIM-NUT demonstration will be performed in 1986 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Italian National Research Council in the City of South Lyon, Michigan.